Dawn
by Queen of the Squares
Summary: Dawn, Day and Dusk's parents are dead, Evanescent and Moonflower's mother and father take them in as they move into Thunderclan during kit-hood. Together they embark on a quest, finding out about themselves, finding love, and uncovering secrets...
1. Chapter 1

**Hullo! Well, this is my first Warriors fanfiction! Yippee! You might be wondering what brought this about, so, I'll tell you. I was just minding my own business conversing with my one of my besties, when we decided to code name Bleach characters (It's an amazing manga/anime, you should really check it out!) after warriors from the different clans. And, because of this, I got in the mood and decided to write something for it. So, without further ado, here it is. **

**~!~**

The night was chilly –leaf-fall was long gone, leaf-bare had long since took over, and all creatures of the Earth crawled into their dens. Even though this difference was inevitably happening, it didn't stop the peaceful mulling's of nature. Twolegs were bedded down for the night –tucked in warm, and safe from the outside world. And the occasional lovers' were sitting out –observing the stars as they listened to the natural sounds of the woods surrounding them. But, little did the dimwitted Twolegs know, something dissimilar was afoot.

A piercing yowl ripped through the night's air. Hooting owls flew from their perches, startled by the sudden scream. However the Twolegs were not bothered by the apparent agony of the creature. They ignored it, figuring that it was only normal.

Cry after cry went out. Peace was not with her tonight.

"It's ok, it's ok," a shrill voice called out, trying to soothe the screams as she ran her golden paws over the other she-cat's convulsing body. Her own kits looked on with fear as they watched their aunt writhe on the ground. One of them pressed its small body into the other, whimpering as it put its small ears down.

"Kits, don't look," their father meowed commandingly, shielding their small bodies with the shafts of long fur covering his dark brown tail.

"Hey, Oak, h-how's she doing?" another male voice called out, sticking his nose into their makeshift den.

Oak, the tom, shot the other a look, "Man, how should I know, Dianthus?"

Dianthus scowled, glaring at his brother, "Shut up Oak. At least let me take Moonflower and Evanescent out of here." Oak sighed, turning his head to look at his daughters.

"Fine, just get them out. I don't want them to be scared," a rare tenderness came out of Oak as he removed his tail, revealing two tiny white kits, "They aren't old enough to see yet, but their hearing is sharp."

Dianthus didn't respond as he lightly nudged the two kittens with his sleek silver tail, "I know. Come on kits." Oak watched as his littermate gently removed the tiny kits from the room. Oak remembered how worried he was that his kits would die during leaf-bare. They were born later than what was normal and they were tinier than they should have –as if both of them were runts. Oak's cold green eyes watched as his mate soothed the other convulsing feline.

A tiny bundle slid out of her rump and he watched as his wife cheered, calling out that it was a she-cat. Another came, the gender was the same as the first. Then the last, finally was a tom. Like his own kits, Dianthus's were smaller than they should be, and his eyes narrowed as he walked to collect the awaiting father.

"Two she-cat's and a tom," he informed as the silver cat looked up at him, his light blue eyes widened.

"Really?"

Oak sighed at his overreacting brother, "Yes."

"I must be the luckiest tom alive!" Dianthus ran back into the den, carelessly abandoning the others, much to Oak's displeasure. His golden furred mate walked over to him, her feet dragging with exhaustion and her tail hung limply.

"Yarrow," Oak addressed her, padding over and affectionately pressing his side to her, "you need to sleep."

Yarrow shook her sleek head, her grayish green eyes nervous, "I need to stay with Daffodil and the new kits. I'm really worried about them."

Oak looked at her warily, "Being worried isn't like you, Yarrow, is their condition really that bad?"

"It doesn't look very promising… but I wouldn't know," Yarrow told her mate, yawning, "I'm not into healing or anything, but Daffodil is incredibly weak. That's what I'm worried about."

"What?" Oak's green eyes were startled, he hadn't been expecting this at all, "You mean Daffodil might not make it?"

Yarrow nodded, clearly bothered by the fact, she began to knead the ground, "Yeah…"

"That would kill Dianthus."

"I know that!" snapped Yarrow, "How could I not know that!"

Dianthus and Daffodil were kindred spirits. They had met when they were young and banded together. Later on, Oak, Dianthus, and Daffodil met up with Yarrow and they all began to travel, romance ensued and now they have to take care of 5 little bundles of joy.

Or little annoying brats as Oak liked to call them.

Yarrow looked away, "It's like Daffodil _knew_ something…"

Oak put touched the tip of his tail to her shoulder, "Go on."

"She asked if I –we- would take care of the kits if she didn't make it…" Yarrow looked into Oak's eyes, "Do you think she knows that she might die?"

"I don't know," Oak told his mate, "But right now, you need to get rest, and so do our kits. Dianthus will stay with Daffodil."

Oak could tell that Yarrow didn't want to leave her friend's side, but she also knew at the same time that she would be of no help if she was practically dead on her paws. Oak read these flickers of thoughts through her eyes and gently prodded her to her nest. He made sure that his kits were comfortably curled beside their mother before going to check on the newborns.

**~!~**

The first thing that Oak noticed was the smell of death; he took in the dull black fur of Daffodil's body and knew. Dianthus was crouched in the den, hate littering his gaze as he hissed, bristling, at his kits.

"Brother," Oak made his presence known, coming to stand beside the small kits, "These are your blood."

"They killed Daffodil!" Dianthus's voice was delirious. Oak couldn't stop his amazement at how Dianthus didn't yowl out in agony at seeing his beloved dead, "They just… took her… they don't deserve to be here!" Dianthus unsheathed his claws, swatting at the little tom as he tried to come near. Oak jumped forwards, picking up the kit by its scruff and pulling it out of harms' way.

"Dianthus!" Oak hissed, dropping the kit on the ground next to its sisters, "Get a hold of yourself."

"Dusk deserves to die," Dianthus once again leapt at them, "As well as Dawn and Day!"

Oak easily swatted the smaller cat aside, knocking him across the den, "I won't let you do something you'll regret!"

"I won't regret it! Just let me rid the world of these pests!"

"You're so stupid!"

"Abominations!"

"Hey!"

"Blasphemy!"

One of the little she-cats let out a wail. Obviously hungry.

"They ate the life right out of her!" Dianthus cried out in despair, trying in vain to get past his huge brother.

"You aren't thinking straight!"

"They killed her just like they killed our mother!"

"Ah," Oak lightly chuckled, "That's what this is about. That last litter, Honeysuckle died after giving birth, didn't she? That's when we left and went out on our own. That's also when we found Daffodil. Look, it's not their fault. She just wasn't strong enough to support herself because of the pain. Trust me, I would know. Yarrow rants about it enough."

But Oak's words fell on deaf ears. Dianthus still tried to attack, the other two began to wail know, rousing Yarrow into seeing what the ruckus was about.

"Oh my…" she breathed upon laying eyes on the scene in front of her.

"Yarrow, take the kits," Oak commanded, not taking his eyes off of his brother, "Dianthus, you aren't thinking."

Oak heard shuffling as his mate began to push the kits out of the den. Once they were gone, Oak attacked, sinking his teeth into Dianthus's shoulder, tasting the iron in his brother's blood, but continuing to bite. Dianthus frantically pulled away, ripping tearing his pelt as he did so, out of Oak's mouth. Oak didn't waste a breath, lunging at Dianthus, his claws out as he slashed, tearing into his littermates pelt. Dianthus jumped away before beginning to swipe at Oak, slashing into his brown muzzle. Pain ripped through Oak, shudders going down his spine, but he ignored it, continuing at Dianthus. Biting and clawing, ripping up the silver pelt until it was mottled with red. Dianthus wasn't able to defend himself from the fury of the blows, and is legs collapsed from under him as he crashed to the floor. Letting out a whimper of pain. His vision began to tunnel as he looked at his brother. Then, his light blue eyes closed for the last time.

**~!~**

**I would like to explain some things, so let the long, rambly author's note begin! **

**Ok, so, at the beginning, you might be wondering as I brought up Twolegs, well, I decided that, since it's part of the scenery, then it should be described to give you readers a good glimpse of what's going on. And onto the birth. Everlasting and Moonflower are a day older than the new kits, Dusk, Dawn, and Day. Oak and Dianthus are brothers, but not from the same litter. However, since they are related, they do have a bond. Oak is older, stronger, and wiser. Dianthus is still young and all he really cares about is/was Daffodil –his mate, so to see her die because she gave birth, his mind automatically goes and blames the kits for it. And this drives him into a rage. And, since they aren't warriors and therefore don't have a code, killing isn't wrong for them. And Oak couldn't see any other way to fix the situation, since when his own mother died and his uncle went into a rage, the only way to make him stop was by Oak driving him into a river. No, Oak doesn't enjoy killing and isn't evil, but, from his experiences and the way he was raised, this is the only thing that he knows to fix the situation with. **

**On my original characters: **

**Oak: He's very stoic and rude. He cares, but doesn't like showing it since he has to deal with the guilt of murdering. **

**Yarrow: Very kind she-cat. She's only named Yarrow because of her coloring. Yes, I know that Yarrow makes you puke and is poisonous, but she is in no way evil. **

**Moonflower: You may be wondering how I'm going to make her name fit in with the other Warriors. Well, I'll tell you. Later. **

**Evanescent: The definition of evanescent is, actually, vanishing. It's a very pretty word, and the band, Evanescence, is amazing. I love the word, and I felt like it would be a great name for the little kitten, it has a bit of irony, because she is in no way 'vanishing' like her name implies. She's also unique because she's the only one in that family that isn't named after a plant. (Yarrow, Oak, Moonflower) **

**Daffodil: I hate that name, it's so corny, but, she's dead and never had a part except for yowling and having convulsions! So, that's good! She was named for her amber eyes.**

**Dianthus: Oh, Dianthus. Yes, he has mental issues. The only thing he ever cared about was Daffodil. He was obsessed. He never wanted kits, he thought they would get in his way when he stalked his mate, so he never even really cared for them. **

**And a note about why their uncle went into a rage instead of their father. I'm under the impression that loners and rogues don't mate for life like those in the clans, so the father wouldn't have stayed around to help with his kits. Therefore, Oak and Dianthus aren't full brothers, they only share a mother. The reason why Oak and Yarrow stayed with each other, was that Oak saw that his mother was terribly in love with **_**his**_** father (not Dianthus's) and he didn't want Yarrow to go through heartbreak, because for him, it wasn't just the lust of going after a she-cat in heat like it is for most toms. Dianthus was the same with his love for Daffodil, but the reason he stayed with her was because he was completely obsessed with her, having the same mental illness his uncle had. **

**By the way, this happens a little after Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Hollyleaf are born. So, a little before TS began in the POT series. **

**Next chapter, time skip and journeying!**


	2. Chapter 2

"What are we going to do?" Yarrow screeched, lashing her fluffy tail as she stalked around. Her movements where jerky, and her kits were yowling, "Why did you _kill_ him?"

Oak sighed, kneading his paws into the ground as he kept the newborns warm with his feather-furred tail. Yarrow was always like this. "Look, Yarrow, it was the only way. He would have killed his kits if given the chance, even after he calmed down. He's just like Honeysuckle's littermate, Dill. His litter would have ended up the same as hers if I hadn't done anything."

Yarrow grunted, knowing that Oak was correct. But she just couldn't get over it. Her family had decreased by two in the course of a few minutes, and gained three within the hour. She could barely wrap her mind around it. How were she and Oak supposed to support five kits on their own? She would need more milk, she barely produced enough for two, and they were already beginning to become thin. She couldn't defend herself against a fox or badger while nursing kits, but Oak had to go and hunt.

"How are we going to stay alive?" Yarrow voiced, her tail drooping as her mood changed, "We're going to die."

"No, we aren't," Oak replied confidently. His leafy gaze sweeping over his wife's lithe body, "You forget why we've moved so far in the first place."

Yarrow's eyes widened as she snapped her head up to stare at her husband in shock, "I thought that was just a passing whim! You don't seriously expect a _Clan_ to take us in! Those kittypets told us that they were violent! I can't let my kits have that kind of life and Daffodil-"

"Daffodil agreed," Oak barked, silencing his mate with an icy glare, then softened. She was only worried about their kittens, it was a logical fear, but one that needed to be resolved. He padded forward and touched his nose to hers, "This is the only way we can survive. We need them, and we can give them aid in their clan."

Yarrow twirled her tail around Oaks, purring, "Alright. It's hard to discount something when you have such confidence in it."

Oak purred as well, "I know."

"Egotistical fox," Yarrow said with a _mrrow_ of amusement. She really loved her mate. He had been through so much, she couldn't blame him for the way he was. But that didn't mean she wasn't annoyed by his cold demeanor.

"You wound me, Yarrow," Oak's tone was playful, but his guard wasn't down. It frustrated Yarrow, she didn't get why he never relaxed, "We should get going. We need to be taken in this leaf-bare, or else we will parish, along with the kits."

The golden she-cat looked over Daffodil's kits. They hadn't opened their eyes yet, only just having been born, but they had very distinct fur-colors. The tom was the smallest of the three, being black in color, Yarrow suspected he would take more after Daffodil than Dianthus. The she-cat named Day was a light silver tabby she-cat, and Yarrow knew that she would take after Dianthus. However, the last kit, the little she-cat, Dawn, was of a different sort. She had light orange tabby fur with white paws and a white patch of fur on her chest. Yarrow hadn't ever met Daffodil or Dianthus's family, but she couldn't correlate the kit with the rest of that family.

Yarrow looked over Oak, "No, the kits aren't ready to travel yet. They can barely waddle."

Oak scowled, "Fox-dung! Moonflower and Evanescent can walk well enough, we'll just carry the other three in shifts."

"Why are you so set on getting to these clans?"

"Because we'll die if we stay on our own," Oak's voice was apathetic, but his eyes and restless movements relayed his underlying worry and sadness.

Yarrow averted her eyes, looking at her own kits, "Alright. You know I can't argue with you." She walked over to them, prodding the kits up with her nose, "You're going to need to walk, alright?"

Moonflower let out a whimper, but got up onto her shaky legs, followed by Evanescent. Yarrow sighed, looking down on her kits. Their eyes weren't even opened yet.

"Can't we wait until these two open their eyes?" Yarrow pleaded, the idea of traveling scaring her.

"No," Oak hissed, bristling, "We have to go now."

"Oak, no," Yarrow shook her head, backing up, "We can't, it'll take too long!"

"Yarrow, we're only a little while away. We just need to keep following the stream and we'll get there," Oak told her, uncurling his tail and pointing rigidly at the rushing stream by their side. Yarrow looked over, mesmerized by the power such a simple thing had. She'd seen a Two-leg drown in one before.

"Fine."

It was simple, and quiet, but Oak heard. He could detect the reluctance in which that simple word was spoken, and suddenly wondered if he was right in pushing his family on. But there was no room for doubts, it wouldn't take that long to get there, and it shouldn't be too strenuous. However, a trickle of doubt lodged itself in his stomach and Oak blanched.

"Never mind," he said quickly, trying to get the words out, "We'll wait for Moonflower and Evanescent to open their eyes."

Yarrow breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you."

**~!~**

Two weeks had passed, and Yarrow had grown accustomed to the nagging pains in her abdomen. They came with the partial starvation she and Oak had to endure while they waited, but at last, Evanescent had opened her eyes, blue as the sky during sun-high. But it wasn't how aesthetic they were that made Oak rejoice, it was the fact that they would finally be on their way to the clans. Oak had been planning this for moons, even before he had found out that Yarrow was pregnant, he had been herding his small group this way, conversing with local kittypets, trying to find an organization that would let them in. The kittypets had been of some use, saying how they had heard about wild cats, just along the stream that fought and were vicious, but had a strong sense of loyalty to each other. Oak had thanked them, and continued on, following their airy directions to the best of his ability to arrive. But then, Yarrow's middle began to bulge, and he had a new sense of urgency about him. He could smell leaf-bare in the wind, and knew that they wouldn't survive out in the open.

He pushed them, his mood getting darker at Daffodil's announcement of pregnancy and they ran, only stopping for brief rests before he and Dianthus would go hunting for their kit-bearing mates. They had always been migratory, but never before had he urged them on with such gusto as he did then. And to no avail, Yarrow gave birth, shortly followed by Daffodil. But Oak still had hope, he thought that they could still move on –that is until Daffodil died and he killed Dianthus with his own claws.

Then he was forced to wait an almost unbearable amount of time for his kits to open their blasted eyes. And finally both of them had and it felt like a heavy weight came off of his broad shoulders.

"Oak," he looked over his shoulder, looking at his glowing mate –the sun reflecting off of her golden pelt, "We can go now."

He let out a yowl of joy, picking up the orange-pelted she-kit from the ground by the scruff. Yarrow held the black tom, and looked over, Moonflower and Evanescent where rolling around, letting out little mews as the batted at each other. He dropped the kit he was carrying and called over to his kits, gaining their attention.

"Moonflower! Make sure Day gets around alright. She can't see yet."

The white she cat looked up at him with baby blue eyes, "Ok!" she squeaked, hopping over to the younger kit and prodding her with her pink nose, "We need to go now, Day."

Day let out a little mew, standing to her wobbly paws and hobbled over to the others.

**~!~**

**Alright! Author's note, begin!**

**The beginning takes place right after Yarrow finds out Dianthus died by Oak's hand… paw… and she is very stressed because she now has to care for **_**five**_** kits, and she's already failing at taking care of two. Cats can't make milk if they are starving (tidbit from my mother who took care of cats when she was a child) and so, since she hasn't been eating well, it's hard for her to make milk. Now they are on their way to the clans, and shenanigans will ensue!**

**Thank you all for your reviews, and if you check out my profile page, I have some links to what they sort of look like! It's not exact, because I couldn't find any exact ones, so just bear with the images. **

**Ah, if you spot any mistakes, please, let me know. This chapter is 'hot-off-the-press' as fanfiction calls it, and is not edited or reread or betaed or anything of the sort, so if you spot errors, please, tell me so I can go in and fix them. **


	3. Chapter 3

The journey was hard on Oak and Yarrow with the five kits that had only _just_ opened their eyes. As they had journeyed, Oak would occasionally scout ahead to make sure that there were no dangers in their way, such as dogs, Thunderpaths, Twolegs, badgers, foxes, and the sort. The woods seemed to grow thicker, while on the opposite bank, marsh grounds had appeared gradually. All of the cats were thankful they weren't on that side of the stream. None of them liked having wet paws.

"Oak! I'm hungry!" Evanescent complained, her white coat shining in the sunlight making her look like a fluffy snowflake.

"Why are you talking to me, Brat Two?" Oak tears, "If you're hungry, tell your mother."

"Yarrow!" the kitten complained, fluffing up her fur against the slightly cold breezes, "I'm _hungry!_

But Evanescent's mother didn't turn around, not gracing the small bundle of *annoying* fluff with the sight of her once beautiful green-gray eyes.

"Suck it up," Dawn hissed, tired of the complaining, "We're all hungry!" _I more than you, or any of the others. _It was true. Dawn had never known what a full meal tasted felt like in her stomach and she didn't know hunger pains weren't good. She really cared about the others, even if she didn't show it and purposefully ate less so that the other kits could have more sustenance. This had been going on for as long as Dawn could consciously remember, she didn't like how her kin looked when she opened her eyes and could have comprehensible thoughts. So, she decided to try and do the best that she could to fix that. But, Yarrow noticed, and constantly nagged at Dawn to eat more, but Dawn wouldn't. Not until the other kits' coats shined in the sun and they weren't so puny. Not that she could talk anyway. Dawn wasn't the largest kit the world had ever seen only having Dusk being slightly smaller. Of course, that was rapidly changing as he grew more. Dawn liked to think it was her doing, not that he took after Oak's build or anything. Dawn wanted to think that her sacrifice of food actually mattered in the health of her siblings, as well as Moonflower and Evanescent –sometimes.

"Are we almost there yet?" Dusk whined, hopping in a little circle around his siblings, Dawn and Day. His black fur fluffed up before forcing his way in between Day and Dawn, happily taking the middle spot. It made him feel comfortable. And protected, seeing as that if they were ever attacked, his sisters would go first and he'd have a head start to run while they died.

Oak paused, one dark paw in the air as he sniffed his mouth partly open, "Yes. The scent boundaries are up ahead." Moonflower let out an excited squeal, leaping forward in an attempt to catch Oak's tail. Dawn sighed, fretting while Day paused thoughtfully.

"Do you think they'll really let us in?" the silver she-cat asked, looking around and sniffing the air.

"Of course!" Dusk replied confidently, holding his tiny head up high and sticking his tail straight out behind him, "Who can say no to _this_ face?"

"Me," Evanescent replied with a haughty voice, "You're such a goose!"

Oak turned his head, looking back at his kit, "That's a new one, Evanescent." The group of cats continued on, but Oak stopped them, his tail held erect, "We just passed the border. Now for a mini lesson."

The five kits reacted differently. Day sat on her hindquarters, her tail up as she looked inquisitively at Oak, while Moonflower groaned, but sat down anyways, not wanting to provoke her father. Evanescent fell over, landing without a thud –she didn't have enough body weight for that –while Dawn lay down, curling into a ball. Oak's lessons were never interesting, he just droned on and on. Dusk did the only thing he could do, wanting to be more original than his kin. So, he ran into a tree and knocked himself out, figuring that, being unconscious was better than listening to his uncle talk.

Yarrow sighed at Dusk's behavior and went over to him, even she wasn't interested in Oak's speeches, and they were mates.

"Now, sniff the air," Oak began, inwardly sighing as only Day and Moonflower did as he asked, "Good, do you see how the scent is more straightforward than it was when we were farther away and it wafted to us? That's because we are in the heart of the scent. This is a cat's territory, and you need to know that when you're in another's territory, you're always in danger."

The cat's sat for a while, waiting for a Clan cat to burst upon them.

"I'm getting nervous, Oak," Moonflower murmured.

"I don't see or scent any other cats… It's all stale," Dawn said, "Where are they?"

"Yeah, we've been waiting for _ages_," Evanescent whined.

"We'll just have to wait for them to come to us," Oak wisely stated, his tone slightly monotonous as he looked down over his kits.

"Ah man…" Dusk grunted, lifting up his head from the ground as he finally came to, "My paws hurt!"

"Like they should after all that walking," Oak sniffed the air as his eyes narrowed, "Cats are a tree-length away -their scent is wafting over here. We're downwind luckily."

"What should we do?" Yarrow asked. Oak paused then began issuing orders.

"Yarrow, take some of the kits and then lead the patrol to me. Maybe tell them one of our many sob stories –ethical appeals almost always work."

Yarrow nodded, "Day, Dawn and Evanescent come with me."

The three she-kits padded forward, following the golden tabby. None of them understood why they were moving, but they followed their "mother" anyways.

**~!~**

Yarrow led the three kits through the trees, winding around the thick brown trunks, crushing ground under her paws. She looked over her shoulder, watching as Evanescent jumped on Day, who immediately retaliated with a hiss, as she chased after the faster kit. Yarrow was very amused to see Dawn sigh before telling Evanescent to stop messing around and catch up with her and Yarrow.

But then, Dawn paused, closing her light blue eyes as she held one paw in the air, "Yarrow, she began, "I think something's coming."

Just then, as if summoned by an otherworldly force, eight cats burst through the surrounding undergrowth. A tom leaped forward, his dappled pelt glistening healthily as strong muscles rippled just below the skin. His hard blue eyes glared hostilely down at Yarrow and the kittens.

"Hah! Trespassing mange-pelts! What are you doing on ThunderClan territory?"

Yarrow stiffened as Day ducked under his prejudiced gaze. However all Dawn could feel was anger. How dare that crow-food eating tom call them such names? Her light orange fur stood on end as she hissed, bristling. Dawn was prone to slight fits of temper; she was easily angered but could usually keep her cool. Normally Evanescent's jabs about her pelt color made her lash out with irritation, but it wasn't ever to harm anyone. It was just to make her feelings known.

Another of the cats padded forward, shouldering past the other, "Ashfur, control yourself."

"Why should he?" Another demanded, jumping to Ashfur's defense, "Their just rogues."

"Have you not noticed the kits?" the only tortoiseshell female inquired, pointing her tail at the three young ones. There were two other females -one was a small gray and white while the other had brown tabby fur.

"Poppypaw," _another_ tom interjected, putting a tail on the she-cat's shoulder, silencing her. "Poppypaw" gave the others a look.

"I demand you tell me what you're doing on our territory!" the brown tom hissed.

Yarrow looked taken aback by the approach and she stepped back, trying to send the kits' messages through her body language to get behind her. Unluckily, the kittens didn't receive this message, "I'm a starving she-cat with five kits, a mate that can't hunt because he has to protect me, and have been traveling for months."

"Get on with it, fox-breath!" Ashfur sneered, his fur fluffing up even more than it already was.

Before Yarrow could go on, Evanescent jumped at Ashfur, landing in front of the larger cat and glaring up at him, her usually care-free and playful eyes violent with hatred, "Be quiet! Who're you to talk, huh? You're just a _pigeon_!"

The golden she-cat panicked, her breath hitching as she looked to see what the gray cat would do. Luckily, Day and Dawn dragged the spitting kit back. Dawn cuffed her over the ear, muttering something that none of the observing felines could make out, but it seemed to scare Evanescent into silence.

"Forgiver her, as I was saying," Yarrow began, trying to take the attention from her kit, "The reason why we have trekked here, is because we want to become Clan cats."

"For ThunderClan especially!" Day yelped, trying to help.

"Where's your mate, then?" the brown tom questioned.

"He's a little ways away with the other two kits, Dusk and Moonflower."

Dawn became bored with the conversation as she looked around at the awesomely magnificent trees in wonder. She wanted to see more, to run around and explore this new territory. So she started to pad away, her head swiveling from side to side as she took in the surroundings, marveling at how the sun's rays cast dark shadows on the forest floor.

"Hey –kit!"

"Dawn! Come back here now!" Yarrow screeched, her tail flicking with agitation and anger at the adventurous kit. Dawn moved an ear back, showing that she had heard, but continued on, not taking heed to the she-cat's words. The orange kit had never been one to listen to direct orders; she didn't like being told what to do. So why would this time be any different?

Hissing with irritation, but not making any moves to go and get the wondering kit, Day was thoroughly surprised when she saw the brown tom stalk over to her sister, biting into the small cat's scruff as he carried her back.

And of course, Dawn didn't' like being tom-handled.

"HEY! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? COME ON! THIS IS SO MEAN! I WAS JUST LOOKIN' AROUND!" and after the struggle, Dawn was dropped next to the Poppypaw and the other small cats, a tom with them, so that the kit wouldn't run off again, "This is unfair." Dawn sulked, her tail drooping and her ears down.

"I apologize for this one as well," Yarrow said, her paws itching to cuff the kit over the head repeatedly, "But my point still stands that my mate and I would like to join. He's just over there…"

"Why would we trust you?" Ashfur hissed, his voice snarky just as the brown sighed.

"Lead the way."

Yarrow sensed that the dark tom was the leader and began to walk off, Day and Evanescent roughhousing and running around the older cats' paws while Dawn was being supervised by Poppypaw.

**~!~**

Dusk looked up as Day bust through the bush. As soon as he had woken up, he had been overtaken by an almost unbearable coughing fit. They had been becoming more and more frequent. His larynx burned, but he didn't want the others to worry about him. So, he instead he puffed out his chest, held his head high and tried to look bigger and more intimidating.

"This is my mate," Yarrow told the following Clan cats as she walked through the brush. She pointed her tail at the long-haired tom.

"Name's Oak."

"Dustpelt," the brown Thundercat introduced, "this is my apprentice, Hazelpaw. And these are my fellow warriors, Spiderleg, with his apprentice Honeypaw, Ashfur, Thornclaw, and his apprentice, Poppypaw."

Oak grunted.

"You want to join the clan?"

Oak grunted again, that _is_ his favorite way to communicate after all.

Thornclaw, the golden tom cleared his throat, looking at Dustpelt as he said, "Um, we might as well take you to Firestar…"

The group of cats walked back towards the hollow.

**~!~**

**This chapter is terribly short, but it will have to do for now since I lost my journal with everything for this story in it. :L Review please, and maybe I can work up the energy to find my book. **


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